1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to a method and system for aggregating messages, and, more particularly, to a method and system for aggregating messages communicated from a distributed energy generator.
2. Description of the Related Art
Use of distributed generators (DGs) to produce energy from renewable resources is steadily gaining commercial acceptance due to the rapid depletion of existing fossil fuels and the increasing costs of current methods of generating power. One such type of distributed generator is a solar power system. Such solar power systems generally comprise large numbers of photovoltaic (PV) modules that convert solar power received into a direct current (DC). One or more inverters may be coupled to the PV modules for converting the DC current into an alternating current (AC), which may then be used to run appliances at a home or business, or may be sold to the commercial power company.
During operation of a solar power system, various messages may be generated by one or more components of the system and communicated to a central processor/controller in order to provide information for real-time monitoring of the health and status of the system. For example, inverters within the solar power system may generate alarm messages, status messages, and/or similar information messages to indicate various events and equipment states. Such messages may be communicated to the central processor/controller and displayed for real-time monitoring; additionally, such messages may be maintained in a history log, for example, within the central processor/controller, for generating history reports as well as for performing long-term analysis.
In some instances, a single event or condition may trigger a large volume of messages of the same type occurring at nearly the same time. For example, in a solar power system where each PV module is coupled to an individual inverter, a sudden change in solar irradiance across the system may trigger the same alarm message to be generated by each of the inverters and communicated to the central processor/controller. Such a large volume of messages pertaining to the same event or condition makes both history reports and long-term analysis more cumbersome, as well as reducing the efficiency of real-time monitoring.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for aggregating a plurality of messages communicated from a distributed energy generator.